Air Intakes

[ASchuck]

My 2006 diesel has been chipped (no clue what chip) and straight piped. I bought it already that way with the chip in it, and I was wondering since my air intake is stock, is there a way to get myself an aftermarket intake without having to change some settings on my chip? with the chip and exhaust alone i'm getting 25mpg highway and I don't want to risk changing the chip and never getting it back to the way it was. thoughts?

 

[Davy120]

Yea youll be able to get a new intake, dont see a reason you couldnt. I dont know of any tuner that needs to be redone after a cai, however you should unplug your batteries for about 5 mins after the install

Camo Ram

 

[oilfieldtrash83]

It wont affect the chip at all. Honestly though, if you are pulling that kind of mileage the way it is I would leave it the hell alone lol.

 

[ASchuck]

well i just took my muffler off, it's loud as hell, but i want a bit of a whistle. and the stock intake restricts it a lot more than another would

 

[DannyMK2]

you could hollow out the resonator on the intake to get the sound, or run the air raid mit. would be cheaper than an intake and have the same effect.

 

[Cummins Powered]

I would just replace the entire stock intake system with a good after market one, such as the Banks Ram air intake system. The stock CAI is very restrictive with bends and choke points, like trying to suck through a crimped straw. The Banks ram air allows more dense cold air into the turbo for lower egt's, better miles per gallon, and a deeper intake sound. You will be able to hear the turbo singing a little louder. Deleteing the grid heater and replacing the stock intake manifold, with a good aftermarket intake manifold will help and allow more fresh air into the cylinders and turbo with less back pressure, improving throttle response, more torque, better fuel mileage, and so on.

 

[NWRQC]

OP. I wouldn't waste any money on an aftermarket intake set-up as the OEM flows well and you won't see any improvement in fuel economy or power. If hearing your turbo better is worth a couple hundred dollars then by all means get an aftermarket intake.
All of the aftermarket companies want you to believe that you'll get 15% better fuel economy and 25-40hp, you won't see any performance benefit until you are making more power than your stock turbo can support.

 

[DannyMK2]

I would just replace the entire stock intake system with a good after market one, such as the Banks Ram air intake system. The stock CAI is very restrictive with bends and choke points, like trying to suck through a crimped straw. The Banks ram air allows more dense cold air into the turbo for lower egt's, better miles per gallon, and a deeper intake sound. You will be able to hear the turbo singing a little louder. Deleteing the grid heater and replacing the stock intake manifold, with a good aftermarket intake manifold will help and allow more fresh air into the cylinders and turbo with less back pressure, improving throttle response, more torque, better fuel mileage, and so on.

if your making 500+ hp, doing all that might help. on an almost stock truck, it s a waste of money.

 

[Cummins Powered]

OP. I wouldn't waste any money on an aftermarket intake set-up as the OEM flows well and you won't see any improvement in fuel economy or power. If hearing your turbo better is worth a couple hundred dollars then by all means get an aftermarket intake.
All of the aftermarket companies want you to believe that you'll get 15% better fuel economy and 25-40hp, you won't see any performance benefit until you are making more power than your stock turbo can support.

I would assume both of you gentlemen have stock intake systems? Just by the explanations the both of you have to offer and say, have either one of you taken apart and really looked inside of the stock intake system of a 3rd gen 5.9 Cummins from 03 to 07? There are crimps and very sharp bends in the systems, plus the baffled honeycomb tube inside that will restrict air flow into the turbo. Just by replacing with a free flowing system will allow better air-flow into the turbo, resulting in less lag, turbo is not having to work as hard. I don't know about a 15% increase in miles per gallon, at least 8 to 10% for just the intake replacement alone, perhaps even more depending on the type of modifications are already done to the truck. These Cummins need a lot of cold dense air, the more air the the better miles per gallon, lower egt's, power, and less back-pressure. When the aftermarket manufacture companies say they gained 15 HP and 30 ft lbs of torque just off of an intake system alone. They forget to mention that it was off of a truck that was already somewhat highly modified. So if you would please explain to me as to why this guy would not benefit from a free flowing cold dense air intake system.

 

[Power247]

In order for an engine to benefit from a CAI the engine must first be starved of air in the first place. The limiting factor on an other wise stock turbo charged engine is not the intake.

There are countless testimonials/videos online that show adding CAI does not help engines with a turbo. Now if you add a bigger turbo, injectors, etc... Then more air will be required than a stock airbox can support.

 

[DannyMK2]

I would assume both of you gentlemen have stock intake systems? Just by the explanations the both of you have to offer and say, have either one of you taken apart and really looked inside of the stock intake system of a 3rd gen 5.9 Cummins from 03 to 07? There are crimps and very sharp bends in the systems, plus the baffled honeycomb tube inside that will restrict air flow into the turbo. Just by replacing with a free flowing system will allow better air-flow into the turbo, resulting in less lag, turbo is not having to work as hard. I don't know about a 15% increase in miles per gallon, at least 8 to 10% for just the intake replacement alone, perhaps even more depending on the type of modifications are already done to the truck. These Cummins need a lot of cold dense air, the more air the the better miles per gallon, lower egt's, power, and less back-pressure. When the aftermarket manufacture companies say they gained 15 HP and 30 ft lbs of torque just off of an intake system alone. They forget to mention that it was off of a truck that was already somewhat highly modified. So if you would please explain to me as to why this guy would not benefit from a free flowing cold dense air intake system.

aftermarket manufactures tend to exaggerate their claims. do you have dyno sheets to prove any benefits? there are plenty out there to back up the fact that under 500hp you gain nothing over the stock set up. you might notice slight gains by replacing the intake horn. i wouldnt spend a huge amount of money on it though, as the gains are not that substantial on a lightly modded truck. if you live in a climate that never gets cold enough to use the grid heater or your truck is a dyno queen, then by all means take it out if you want. otherwise leave it in. its not that restrictive, nor do you want to deal with attempting to start it in the winter without it.

 

[Cummins Powered]

In order for an engine to benefit from a CAI the engine must first be starved of air in the first place. The limiting factor on an other wise stock turbo charged engine is not the intake.

There are countless testimonials/videos online that show adding CAI does not help engines with a turbo. Now if you add a bigger turbo, injectors, etc... Then more air will be required than a stock airbox can support.

I agree with you on the basis of the factor of adding a bigger turbo,injectors, fuel system, and so on. Then of course there is no doubt that you would want to install an aftermarket cold air intake. That of course I do agree with on that, so far your the only one that has made any sense. This guy was just asking a very simple question, having any benefits for installing an aftermarket cold air intake. The very simple answer is yes! More free flowing air, lower egt's, more torque, with better throttle response. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out. With the right amout of fuel being burned, regardless of a tuner, down-loader, a 4 or 5 inch turbo-back and a descent closed cold air intake, along with an aftermarket intake manifold will see the benefits. When comparison to the stock CAI. Now will you gain 30 HP, no, will you gain 50 ft lbs of torque no, with a highly modified truck you will see higher horsepower gains, and more torque.

 

[DannyMK2]

I agree with you on the basis of the factor of adding a bigger turbo,injectors, fuel system, and so on. Then of course there is no doubt that you would want to install an aftermarket cold air intake. That of course I do agree with on that, so far your the only one that has made any sense. This guy was just asking a very simple question, having any benefits for installing an aftermarket cold air intake. The very simple answer is yes! More free flowing air, lower egt's, more torque, with better throttle response. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out. With the right amout of fuel being burned, regardless of a tuner, down-loader, a 4 or 5 inch turbo-back and a descent closed cold air intake, along with an aftermarket intake manifold will see the benefits. When comparison to the stock CAI. Now will you gain 30 HP, no, will you gain 50 ft lbs of torque no, with a highly modified truck you will see higher horsepower gains, and more torque.

your logic is accurate, but you seem to be missing one key point. you can put the biggest best flowing intake on your truck, but if your truck can not use all the extra air, where is the gain? its only going to pull so much air. is the ability to pull more air essentially better, absolutely. but if your not making enough power to benefit from it, where is the gain? the stock intake has been PROVEN to pull enough air to sustain 500hp. i highly doubt the OP is making close to 500hp with only a chip and a straight pipe, so in this particular case he will see no gains. now if he has plans for more mods and more power, then there would be a point in investing in a cold air intake, but from the sounds of it that is not the case.

 

[NWRQC]

I would assume both of you gentlemen have stock intake systems? Just by the explanations the both of you have to offer and say, have either one of you taken apart and really looked inside of the stock intake system of a 3rd gen 5.9 Cummins from 03 to 07? There are crimps and very sharp bends in the systems, plus the baffled honeycomb tube inside that will restrict air flow into the turbo. Just by replacing with a free flowing system will allow better air-flow into the turbo, resulting in less lag, turbo is not having to work as hard. I don't know about a 15% increase in miles per gallon, at least 8 to 10% for just the intake replacement alone, perhaps even more depending on the type of modifications are already done to the truck. These Cummins need a lot of cold dense air, the more air the the better miles per gallon, lower egt's, power, and less back-pressure. When the aftermarket manufacture companies say they gained 15 HP and 30 ft lbs of torque just off of an intake system alone. They forget to mention that it was off of a truck that was already somewhat highly modified. So if you would please explain to me as to why this guy would not benefit from a free flowing cold dense air intake system.

I do not have a stock intake system, but I also don't have the stock turbo. I am getting to the point where ditching the oem intake will be beneficial for me and thats why I opted for an aftermarket set-up.
The bends in the intake are not that drastic and the baffle comes out in a matter of minutes. I can tell you from my personal experience that my fuel economy went up exactly 0% after replacing the intake. I hand calculate my fuel economy every fill-up. In the past 27K miles the only things that have helped my fuel economy are 1) tuning 2) larger turbo. The OEM set-up is more than adequate for the stock charger, it pulls cool air from the fender. The highlighted red above is what I've been saying... A highly modified truck will benefit from the added airflow, stock/mild mod won't. His $300 is better sent elsewhere.

 

[NWRQC]

In order for an engine to benefit from a CAI the engine must first be starved of air in the first place. The limiting factor on an other wise stock turbo charged engine is not the intake.

There are countless testimonials/videos online that show adding CAI does not help engines with a turbo. Now if you add a bigger turbo, injectors, etc... Then more air will be required than a stock airbox can support.

I couldn't agree more! Summed up well.